Today we’d like to introduce you to Fuscia.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
Singer/songwriter and Los Angeles native, Rebecca Engelhardt grew up studying classical voice and piano before moving to Boston to pursue Composition and Film Scoring at Berklee College of Music. Upon returning to Los Angeles in 2015, Rebecca began songwriting and session singing for feature films such as Universal’s “Sing!”, ultimately leading to a feature on Adrian Younge’s 2018 album, “Voices of Gemma.”
Sharing her first solo effort under the pseudonym, Fuscia, the project pulls influence from Hiatus Coyote, Charlotte Day Wilson, and Moonchild. “Tinted Blue,” her premiere single is slated for release in early May, with a 5-song, self-titled EP – “Fuscia” – to follow.
Please tell us about your art.
I’m a singer and songwriter as well as aspiring multi-instrumentalist! I grew up playing piano, dabbled in flute as a teen (though that didn’t stick and I’ve since returned to keys to compose on primarily). Last year, I bought myself a violin bass (same one as Paul McCartney!) and have been teaching myself, as well as taking lessons with friends.
I write the bulk of my songs, but never like to finish things on my own. So many of my friends – if not all -are artists, writers, and musicians themselves, so a big part of my process for the Fuscia EP was taking ideas to those people to collaborate on. I’ve found I’m most creative when working with all of the talented people I’m lucky to surround myself with. Because of this, crafting most of the songs on this EP felt a lot like making a collage. My producer, Connor Musarra, and I spent a lot of time building these tracks around the voice-memo demos I’d sent him, layering live instruments over the top, chopping up bass lines our friends shared with us, flipping samples from old records that inspire me and incorporating plug-in sounds to create what is now the Fuscia EP!
I create because I don’t know what I’d be doing if I wasn’t making music. There was a stretch of time post-college where I doubted my ability to pursue my artistry, but I’m lucky to have friends who pushed me to go after what it is what I love. It’s these friends who inspire me to rise to the occasion, honor my talents, and make the art I want to make. I hope that that’s what listeners take away from this project – to honor your highest self. I create in hopes of inspiring others in that same way.
What do you think about the conditions for artists today? Has life become easier or harder for artists in recent years? What can cities like ours do to encourage and help art and artists thrive?
I believe life is both easier and more difficult. Artists today have much more control, and you don’t need to be signed to become a household name, which for indie artists is great news! The rise of social media has allowed artists to reach more people and in turn, build a broad fanbase.
The converse of this is that there is so much music being released all the time. There’s a lot of noise to cut through and unfortunately in the age of “content is king,” there is a lot of pressure to constantly be making things – even if the quality suffers because of it. Almost that we value quantity and consistency over quality art.
I’d like to see cities offer more opportunity for artists to perform live. Because it is incredibly difficult to make a substantial living off of streaming/record sales, and many artists don’t have a big enough following to book a big tour, it’d be nice to see the city embrace smaller artists and afford opportunities for live music when appropriate. Festivals like Echo Park Rising are a great way to showcase smaller artists and foster collaboration within the artist community here in Los Angeles.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
The Fuscia EP will be available on all streaming platforms, and I’m working on video content to accompany the single “Tinted Blue” as well as a few other tracks on the EP that will be available on YouTube. Listeners can support by listening and sharing with friends! It’s my dream to get this EP pressed and have vinyl copies available for those who the music really resonates with and I plan to play live shows this summer and hope to grow a fanbase by creating a unique experience through live music.
Contact Info:
- Website: heyfuscia.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/heyfuscia
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/heyfuscia
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXrhJ2AW95pVj1m2l2RmS4A?
Image Credit:
Costa Ciminiello
Andrew Wofford
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